immoafrica blog

When selling a home, are viewers impressed or deterred by personal items? Readers of property media in South Africa, says Bill Rawson, Chairman of the Rawson Property Group, are frequently given advice on how to prepare their home for a viewing and especially for a show day. “The advice given is generally sound and boils [...](more...)

Prospective home owners need to stop ‘reckless borrowing’ Just about everyone cheered recently when the reserve Bank decided to leave interest rates unchanged again, but it was not necessarily such good news for the real estate market. That’s the word from Rudi Botha, CEO of BetterBond, SA’s leading mortgage originator, who says: “The problem is [...](more...)

Retreat to your own island If you’re looking for an escape from the stress of city life, what better place could there be than your very own island – a place to build your dream home and enjoy an idyllic lifestyle with your family and friends? This is the promise of the Lady Hamilton Island, [...](more...)

Landlords’ increasing aversion to smokers and certain pet owners Smokers and pet owners are finding that landlords are raising the barriers to their being taken on as tenants, says Tony Clarke, Managing Director of the Rawson Property Group. “There was a time when smokers and those with pets could come to an agreement with their [...](more...)

Struggling to repay your bond?  Talk to your bank at the earliest possible opportunity! There is a regrettable tendency among those who struggle to meet their bond repayments to keep silent about their problems until it is too late to carry out an effective rescue exercise. Situations of this kind, says Tony Clarke, Managing Director of [...](more...)

How to clear your credit record? With the current economic climate in South Africa Businesses are forced to take judgement against consumers in order to recover outstanding debt, this has resulted in more consumers being listed with credit bureaus. The big question when this happens to you is how could I clear my credit record.(more...)

Good security installations increasingly necessary to sell a home It will come as no surprise to those who track the rise and fall of residential property in South Africa – and the factors which influence these – that for many buyers today, a home security system will be among the most important factors influencing their [...](more...)

The seven habits of accomplished home buyers Buying a new home is especially stressful for first-time buyers but they can do much to look like “old-hands” – and avoid common problems – by following some basic guidelines. The very first of these, says Berry Everitt, MD of the Chas Everitt International property group, is to [...](more...)

Pay off your bond well before you retire If you’re dreaming of a carefree retirement, one of your major aims should be to make sure you will be living rent or bond-free. “When you retire and become dependent on a fixed income, the last thing you need is a surprise increase in home loan repayments [...](more...)

Points to consider when insuring residential property One does not like to consider that an accident might happen and that their property will be damaged or burnt down in the event of a fire – and when they do consider such matters they often console themselves with the thought that the property’s value has been [...](more...)

Residential rentals are on the increase but so are landlord-tenant difficulties. With South Africa’s banks still adopting a very cautious stance regarding bond grants, demand for rented accommodation increases month by month, says Lorraine Dellbridge, Rental Co-ordinator for Rawson Rentals. This, in turn, she says, is leading to steadily improving rentals and the return of [...](more...)

Don’t be fooled by phantom offers Property sellers should ensure that any offers made to buy their homes are genuine – or they will run the risk of delayed transactions and extra holding costs. This warning comes from Fransiska Schutte, owner of the RealNet Wilgers & Surrounds franchise in Pretoria, who says incidents of unscrupulous [...](more...)

Repeat buyers gain ground as home prices increase The extent of the improvement in the residential property market over the past two years is clearly indicated in the latest statistics from BetterBond, SA’s leading mortgage originator, which show that home loan approval rate has risen from 61% in March 2011 to 69% in March this [...](more...)

Low emigration levels boosting the SA house market – but are not yet complemented by increased foreign buying in SA. One of the most heartening aspects of the South African property market in recent months, says Mike van Alphen, National Manager of Rawson Finance, has been the decline in the number of people selling to [...](more...)

Should you sell or become a landlord? If you’re a home owner whose job suddenly demands that you transfer to another town – or country – for a while, you could have a tough time deciding what to do with your property. “Many work-related moves these days are only for the duration of a specific [...](more...)

Securing Against Rental Defaults Havoc over the festive season that saw the number of tenants defaulting on their monthly rentals had boosted the interest among buy-to-let investors to adequately insure against potential losses in revenue. Just Letting Property Group CEO John Roberts said typically around 10% of tenants regularly defaulted on their monthly rentals, but [...](more...)

Consolidation of sectional title units permitted by law. The growing popularity of sectional title apartments for those who want a safer, less complicated lifestyle has, says Johalna Minnaar, National Sales Manager for the Rawson Property Group, sometimes been dampened by the awkward truth that many of today’s schemes, although cleverly designed and equipped with state-of-the-art [...](more...)

Renting Securely RESEARCH into the behavioural patterns of buy-to-let investors and potential tenants has revealed that both parties were contributing towards stabilising the rental market as a medium to long-term investment prospect. Data collated by property services group Just Letting Property reflected a 26% increase in the number of buy-to-let investors nationally contracting to receive [...](more...)

Check that buyers have sold their existing properties One of the lessons that has to be repeated over and over again at the Rawson Property Group’s training sessions, says Bill Rawson, Chairman of the group, is the simple one that agents must check up on statements from buyers detailing the sale of their existing properties. [...](more...)

How to make the best of a CMA The Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) has been around for a long time and by now, most home sellers know that they should ask their agent for one before deciding on an asking price for their property. But many still don’t really know how much information should actually [...](more...)